


Mixed up Seats

by JuliaCorvia



Series: Dianakko Week 2020 [1]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: But only a little, Childhood Friends, Dianakko Week 2020, F/F, Minor Character Death Mentioned, Some angst, day 7 free day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26087011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaCorvia/pseuds/JuliaCorvia
Summary: A mix up has Diana sitting in a different seat  during Shiny Chariot's performance, leading her to sit next to a very excitable Akko and changing both of their lives.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Series: Dianakko Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895521
Comments: 40
Kudos: 194





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for day one of Dianakko week, for childhood friends. Also my first ever fanfic, so I hope you enjoy it.

Diana fidgeted in the airplane seat, excitedly looking out the window, her mind racing too much to focus on the book that she had with her. She was finally going to see Shiny Chariot and spend more time with her mother all in the same trip. This was everything she had wanted for the holidays. A ding from above shook her out of her thoughts as the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign glowed green and a crackle came from the overhead speakers.

“Good afternoon everyone this is your captain speaking, we are currently starting our descent into Tokyo now,” the voice was accompanied by the feel of the plane starting to turn as Diana excitedly pushed her face against the frosted windows, trying to catch a glimpse of their destination as the voice continued, “The weather in Tokyo is 10 degrees centigrade with a low cloud cover. We will be landing shortly, make sure to fasten your seatbelts, and from all of us on board thank you for flying All Nippon Airways.” The voice from the speakers began to repeat the message in Japanese as Diana moved to make sure that she had her seatbelt fastened properly, unable to keep the excited grin off of her face.

“I am glad that you are so excited Diana,” a voice interrupted her as she turned to see her mother, stretching in the cramped airplane seat next to her. “Now what do we need to have ready before the plane lands?,” Bernadette Cavendish asked her daughter, leaning over the seat to double check that Diana was fastened in and there was nothing around her.

“Clean up your seat, make sure everything is packed away, and cast the language spell,” Diana answered dutifully, moving to slip her book back into her small bag, fiddling with the wand in her hands bashfully, “I am just so excited, I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with you lately, and I really wanted to go see Shiny Chariot. Thank you for surprising me with the tickets to come out and see her show.”

Bernadette smiles, leaning over placing a hand on Diana's head affectionately, “I know how much you wanted to go see her, I couldn’t just let that opportunity slip by.”

The moment was interrupted by one of the passing flight attendants, checking to make sure that everyone's seat belt was fastened and that all trash was properly disposed of. Diana, embarrassed at being seen so excited, turned towards the window and immediately moved closer to it upon seeing the city below, the plane finally breaking from the clouds, the wing dipping downwards as the plane began to make its slow circular descent. Bernadette smiled watching the excited face of her daughter, thinking about how different Diana seemed here, among the clouds where there was no family, no servants, no one to watch her and remind her of her lessons. She knew that Diana was a shy child, but having no one at home besides caretakers and disagreeable cousins, both of who would remind Diana constantly about her lessons in proper etiquette, and about the uselessness of her interest in Shiny Chariot, made her reluctant to express herself fully. For the first time in a very long time Bernadette wondered if spending all the time away from the house, trying to elevate the Cavendish name was truly worth it, before being pulled out of her thoughts by Diana’s hand tugging on her sleeve, looking over to her daughter excitedly guestering outside.

“It’s all so small from up here,” Diana said, her voice filled in awe as she looked down at the city below her.

“You never get tired of seeing the world like that,” Bernadette said, pulling her daughter in for a side hug. “When you get better at flying you will see it more often, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll go so far as a witch you will even see all this from space.”

Diana and her mother both laughed softly at her joke before Bernadette turned to her, letting a small smile linger on her face.

“Now Diana,” she said, pulling out her own wand and an amulet from within her robes, the amulet set with a small shard of a sorcerer's stone. “Let us cast the language spell before we land and get caught up in the crowds.”

Both witches readied their wands, the ends of the wands lighting up with the magic welling up in them.

“Labhairt agus éisteacht,” both mother and daughter said, the spell kicking in just in time to hear the end of the captain's message, the previously incomprehensible words now understandable to them. Diana smiled up at her mother, happy to have been able to cast the spell correctly, before the plane started to descend faster and she turned her eyes towards the window, reveling in the new sights below her and the now distinguishable chatter of other people on their flight.

The rush through the baggage claim and immigration felt like a blur to Diana, the eight year old stumbling a bit trying to regain footing after such a long trip spent confined to a seat. She followed her mother out to the pickup area as they hailed down a taxi, setting out for their hotel, and later that night, Shiny Chariot's performance. Diana looked out the window, consumed in her own thoughts, she was finally going to see her idol perform magic! Seeing Chariot perform on TV and hearing about the way she performed magic; like magic was a type of love you would shout from the rooftops, utterly shameless in the freedom and joy it could bring. Diana knew that Shiny Chariot was a great witch, it just seemed to her that no one else knew that fact too. Her cousins and the rest of the nobles who came around would see it too, because Diana was going to learn a new spell from today's show and perform it for everyone, so that no one could doubt Chariot’s magic.

Diana was practically vibrating by the time that their taxi pulled up to the front of the hotel, Diana excitedly pulling her mother along as they hurriedly checked in and made their way up to their room. They both unpacked a few of their items, making sure that their wands were secured, and also pulling out matching hats, styled after Bernadette’s old school, Luna Nova. Bernadette prepared herself a cup of coffee, the spitting sounds of the coffee machine matching the business of Diana, a bundle of anxious energy moving too and fro across the room, making sure that they had their tickets, that she remembered her wand, that her hat was on correctly, all under the tired and watchful eyes of her mother.

When Bernadette’s cure to jet lag was finished the two made their way down outside the hotel, the amphitheatre blessedly only a short walk away. When they arrived at the park next to the venue a crowd had already started to gather outside, taking up places on the grass to watch the show as the ticketed line made its steady march inside the gates. Diana pulled her mother into their spot in the line, gazing with wonder at all the fans of Shiny Chariot, some waving around wands, the infectious laughter ringing out across the park putting a smile on her face.

When they finally reached the front of the line Bernadette pulled out their two tickets and presented them to the teenage girl in the booth. She examined them before, checking something in the computer and turning to face Bernadette with an apologetic look.

“I’m terribly sorry ma’am there seems to be a mixup in the tickets here.” She said, the words immediately sending Diana's mood crashing from a height she didn’t realize she had let it get to.

The show worker noticed Diana go to cling to her mother’s dress and immediately spoke up,”It’s not a big mix up at all, sorry for that phrasing,” she reassured, an apologetic look on her face. “There is just a small problem with the seating arrangements, we seem to have printed out two sets of tickets for this spot, I can just move you up a couple rows if that is okay with you?”

“That would be lovely,” Bernadette said, letting out a breath she did not realize she was holding. “Thank you for clearing that up so quickly.” The girl had a relieved look on her face as she handed over a pair of new tickets with the updated seats on them, the mother and daughter pair making sure to thank her again before they walked into the amphitheatre proper.

Diana was almost in a stupor as she pulled closer to her mother, taking in all the sights of Shiny Chariot merchandise around her, pulled in every direction by the vibrant sights and sounds as they made their way to their new seats. Diana had only just sat down, adjusting her skirt and hat so that everything was proper, when another girl sat down next to her, talking loudly to her two parents as she hurried them into their seats.

The girl suddenly turned around, Diana taking in the sight of a girl around her age who was wearing a Shiny Chariot costume, complete with the hat and tiny shiny rod, and striking red eyes. The girl’s smile shone brighter than the lights

“Hi!” The girl excitedly introduced herself to Diana, reaching out her hand for a handshake, the too long sleeves of the costume draping slightly over her hand before she went to pull it back up. “My name’s Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko, do you like Shiny Chariot too? Shiny Chariot is my favorite and her magic is so fun, I wanna be just like her when I grow up and do magic like her. Can you do magic?” Akko asked, her words spilling out of her mouth at a frantic pace.

Shyly Diana reached out and shook Akko’s hand gently, attempting to maintain the composure like she was taught. “Hello, my name is Diana Cavendish.” She calmly replied, trying to keep track of all the questions the excitable girl had asked. “I do quite like Shiny Chariot,” she said bashfully, hesitant to express her love of her hero. She could already see the sparkle in Akko’s eyes as she continued, “I can do some magic, I’m not as good as my mom.” She trailed off as Akko’s eyes got even larger, seeming to defy physics as they sparkled in the artificial lights, taking a breath of air in excitement and probably ready to let out another triad of questions.

Bernadette leaned over Diana, reaching her arm out to shake Akko’s as she smiled at her withdrawn daughter. “Well I see you met another fan Diana.” she said smiling at both of them as Akko realized their matching hats and the wand hanging on Bernadette’s belt.

“You’re both witches,” she breathed out in awe, grabbing Diana’s arm and continuing to speak at a rapid pace, “And your mom is really pretty Diana, so are you, and you have wands!” the words came at a rapid pace while Diana blushed under the compliments and questions.

A voice interrupted Akko’s rant as the one of the two people she was with put their hands on her shoulder and calmed her down, “Slow down there Akko, you’re going to wear yourself out before the show even starts.” A woman that looked like an older Akko, brunette hair and dazzling smile but minus the red eyes, looked over towards the two witches. “I’m Akemi Kagari,” she said, then gesturing over to the man sitting next to her, who’s red eyes matched Akko’s. “This is Kenta Kagari, and it does seem you met Akko, I hope that she wasn’t too rude.” she ruffled Akko’s hair as she introduced their family.

The girl tilted her head up to look at her mom, her voice drawn out as a pout was on her face, “But Okassan,” she whined, “They are witches! They are so cool!”

Diana’s face was flushed as she felt excitement overtake her, she had finally found someone who also liked Shiny Chariot, and who seemed just as excited about magic as her. She turned towards Akko with her hands in her lap,her fingers tapping out a staccato pattern to reflect her nerves as she summoned up her bravery.

“Do, do you maybe want to try out some magic,” Diana asked, her voice extremely soft and hard to hear over the crowds. This was her opportunity to finally find someone who actually cared about magic, maybe then someone would understand her.

Akko was stunned speechless with a look of absolute joy on her face, as she nodded, too shocked to even make words. Diana blushed shyly as she scooted the fold out chair closer to Akko as she pulled out her wand, looking at Akko’s parents as they gave a soft smile and the go ahead for them to play. Akko took the wand with shaking hands as a large smile crept across her face and her other hand reached out to grab Diana’s.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Akko said, fully turning towards Diana as both of their parents started to chat over their head. “I can finally cast all the spells that Shiny chariot does! Can you teach me?” She turned to Diana with a look on her face of such pure joy and longing, like the opportunity to do magic was a piece of a puzzle that she had never got the opportunity to know until now. Diana nodded and the two of them leaned in over the wand, Diana giving Akko a lesson in how to use a simple light spell, trying to be as close to possible in her explanation as her mother and her tutors, wanting Akko to get the spell down, just to see that excitement she had seen earlier, for some reason she really wanted to see Akko smile.

Diana had decided to teach Akko a simple spell to make light, éadrom, which would make a small light hover in front of her wand. Diana was helping her go over the motions when Akko murmured to herself Chariot's catchphrase, “A believing heart is your magic,” she softly whispered, the hope clear in her voice, at her words a small light formed in front of Diana’s wand. Akko and Diana both lept in their seats, Akko leaning over to give Diana a huge hug as she vibrated with excitement.

“I did it!” Akko jumped up in her seat, turning immediately to her parents and pulling Diana along, still trapped in the hug. “Did you see Okassan, did you see Otochan? I did magic! Diana helped!”

Her parents both had a soft smile on their faces as they looked down at their daughter, congratulating both of them on their job well done as music started to come from the stage, immediately grabbing everyone’s attention as the show was about to start. Akko whipped back into place in her chair, startling Diana by how fast the girl moved as Akko let her go. Diana felt a brief feeling of sadness before the realization that the show was starting clicked and she sat up in her seat ready to watch. Diana felt a warmth in her hand as Akko had grabbed onto her hand, Diana’s wand still grasped in both of their hands as Chariot appeared in a flash of magic.

The show was everything that Diana had imagined it could be, with Chariot's magic dazzling the entire audience, her illusions moving overhead and dancing over the heads of the audience. Both of the young witches were captivated, watching Chariot perform her magic, not realizing that they had continued to hold hands and the fond looks that both of their parents were giving them.

Near the end of the show both Diana and Akko yelled out Shiny Chariot’s catchphrase along with the rest of the crowd as Chariot flew up into the sky. As groups started to peel off from the crowd and start making their way back home Akko turned towards Diana and offered her back her wand. “Do you wanna be friends,” the brunette said, giving Diana a huge smile. “You’re really fun and cool and you taught me magic. No one ever thought I could do magic until now.”

Diana felt the edges of her mouth turn up in an unrestrained grin, someone actually wanted to be her friend, and it was because she liked Chariot, not because of who her mom was. She found herself nodding to Akko’s question as Akemi leaned over Akko to speak to the Cavendishes.

“Will you be staying in Tokyo for long,” she asked, placing her hands on Akko’s shoulders, “We don’t live in the city but we are here for a couple of days, a bit of a long vacation before we get back home, we would love to spend more time with you, show you a few places we know, and I’m sure that Akko wants to spend time with her new friend.”

Akko’s enthusiastic nodding accompanied her mother’s words as Diana looked up at her mother. Bernadette stifled a small yawn, fighting jet lag and the long flight awake, and graciously accepted their offer. The families made plans to meet up at the park close by the next day and started to make their way back to their hotels, Akko excitedly turning to wave before they rounded a corner, Diana shyly waving back, holding onto her mother's hand and thinking to herself how this was probably one of the best days of her life.  
\---

The next day Akko couldn’t wait to get to the park and hang out with her new friend, one that could do magic, who liked Shiny Chariot. She had made sure to wear her Chariot hat again, running around her parents as they made their way to the park they had planned to meet Diana and her mom at. Akko’s grin hadn’t faded at all from last night, thoughts of magic had been on her mind all night and she hardly slept. She really hoped that Diana wanted to be friends, there weren’t that many people who thought that magic was real in school, and everyone seemed to laugh when she said that she wanted to be a famous witch. A slight frown passed Akko’s face before disappearing, the slight hesitant thoughts replaced by the memory of her casting magic, and her parents unwavering support of her.

As they neared the park, Akko caught sight of Diana and her mother, both of them sitting together on a bench, both sitting up super straight and proper, both seeming to scan the area. Akko waved wildly as she yelled out a greeting, her parents following right behind her as she picked up speed towards her new friend.

Akko skidded to a start in front of the pair of witches, a practiced move for the girl who refused to slow down. “Diana” she said, throwing out her arms to stabilize her sudden stop. “You came!”

Diana smiled as the rest of the Kagari family caught up to Akko, the parents greeting each other as Akko excitedly jumped up onto the bench next to Diana, pulling out a set of Shiny Chariot playing cards and turning to face the blonde witch.

“I brought my Chariot cards,” Akko started talking, shuffling through them, trying to make sure Diana could see as well, “I’ve never been able to play with anyone, and it’s really fun. Do you know how to play?”

Diana shook her head, but seeing Akko’s face start to fall quickly tried to fix the situation, “You could teach me.” she said, reaching out towards the cards and looking at all the art, “It would be fun to learn.”

Akko vibrated in place with excitement as she grabbed Diana’s hands in celebration, immediately launching into a complicated discussion of how the game worked, and all the different tricks that she liked to use when playing. The two witches got absorbed in the game, not realizing how much time had passed talking together about Shiny Chariot and magic.

Before they realized it, Bernadette had to interrupt the two, reminding Diana that they had to catch a flight later that evening, and had to go back to the hotel soon to make sure to pack. Diana’s face fell at the realization, turning to Akko with a sad smile. Akko had a moment of panic, not wanting to lose a friend who also liked Chariot, and quickly asked Diana, “Do you have a phone at your house?”

Diana turned quizzically up at her mother, who had a similar expression on her face, both of them silent for a moment before Akemi butted in, “You could send letters.” she said, watching the faces of the witches relax.

“Yes,” Bernadette replies, “We can certainly send letters.” The two young witches smile at this, both excited to have someone to talk to. One exchange of addresses later, and one goodbye in which Diana received more hugs than she had in the past few months in the span of 1 minute, and the Cavendish witches were heading off towards the hotel, Diana looking back over her shoulder and waving at Akko, who was excitedly waving back while talking to her parents about how much she wanted to be an awesome witch, just like Chariot, and just like Diana.

Two weeks later, while the Kagari family was having breakfast, there was a tapping sound outside of the window. Akko, ever curious, went to go see what the noise was, and not a minute after getting up to check whipped back around the corner into the dining area at top speed, running over towards her mom and pulling at her hand excitedly.

“Paper.. Bird.. magic…” Akko sputtered out, pulling her mom around the corner where she was confronted by the sight of a small bird pecking at the window, and upon looking at it closely it did seem to be made out of paper. Akemi leaned over her daughter and opened the window, the bird flying in and doing a loop before it landed in Akko’s hands unfurling into a letter.

Akko stared at the letter with stars in her eyes before bolting upstairs, yelling a jumbled excuse about Diana, magic, and needing to find colored pencils. Akemi watched her go before turning to her husband and smiling fondly, well, she thought, this would be interesting.  
\--

Bernadette and Diana stared at the object on the table, 10 year old Diana with a instruction sheet held up in front of her face and Bernadette tapping her finger on her chin as they stared down at the source of their confusion and ire, a cell phone. It seemed to be on, the phone had played music just a moment ago, shocking the family cat, and also Diana, though she would be reluctant to admit it, but the Cavendishes couldn’t seem to figure out how to set the device up. For the past 2 years Diana had been conversing with Akko through letters, she had a stack of Akko’s letters, complete with her scrawling handwriting in a box in her room.

This cell phone however, was an entirely different beast from her usual method of communicating. Akko had gotten one for her birthday, and had excitedly told Diana that it would allow them to talk at any time of the day, and even that it could enable them to speak to each other. Diana had heard of some spells that were able to do this, but enchanted items and complex spells were quite a far reach away from her abilities, her still just recovering from her magic seeming to act up for no explainable reason. However with the words of her best friend in mind, she had asked her mother for one of these cell phones.

Which led them to this situation, and to the scene that Anna found them, both witches looking like they were a few minutes away from trying various curses on the phone to see if it would work. The head maid interrupted the pair, walking over and clearing her throat softly.

“Miss Cavendish,” she said, “Is there anything that you need help with?”

Bernadette turned towards her startled, a small flush of embarrassment on her cheeks as she tried to find the words to explain, “Well,” she started hesitantly, “would you happen to know anything about phones? Diana’s friend seemed to think it would be a good way for them to keep in communication, it just seems that we might have missed a step or two in the process of getting it set up.”

Anna walked over to the phone, smiling internally as she saw both mother and daughter staring at her intently. She tried to turn the power on, but found it unresponsive, took the charging cord and plugged it into one of the wall outlets. The phone lit up and gave a responsive ding, startling the Cavendish witches, as Diana asked Anna what she did to make the phone work.

One explanation about how batteries worked, and a quick crash course on how to use a cell phone, Diana leaning over Anna’s shoulder to see how she operated the device, and Diana found herself back in her room, checking the parchment where she had carefully written down Akko’s number. She carefully input the numbers into her phone, remembering how Anna had told her to make a contact, and writing out her first text message. She looked at the clock in her room, surprised to find that it was so late at night, and wondered if Akko would even be up at this hour, with the time difference. She breathed out a long sigh, letting her nerves out, and hit send.

Diana: Hello Atsuko, this is Diana Cavendish. I hope I imputed your number correctly. I apologize if this message finds you too early in the morning, it took longer than expected to set up this new cell phone. - Diana

Diana put the phone down and flopped unelegently onto her bed, mumbling to herself indistinguishably. She was truly glad to have a friend in Akko, one that would never tease her for her interests, but instead would support her. Diana’s schooling had only increased recently, after the small hiccup of her not being able to perform magic, she was back on track for all of her studies, including on how to run the Cavendish family, the proper way to conduct oneself among company, and she had been told numerous times how the whole family counted on her.

Despite being told how important she was, her aunt and cousins still teased her about her faith in magic, so much so that she gave up trying to talk about magic outside of its textbook uses, and gave up in talking about Shiny Chariot all together, only keeping her one Shiny Chariot card that her mother had given her. Her mother was also away more on business, and even when she was home she seemed to be much too tired to do much, today had been one of the few times Diana had been able to spend any time with her mother.

A loud chime interrupted her thoughts, pulling her out and startling her slightly. She looked over and saw that her phone was glowing, and scrambled to grab it, sitting up and quickly checking her messages.

Akko: Diana!! U got a phone! We can finally text. How R U?  
Akko: You don’t have to sign your texts silly :P

Reading the message Diana smiled, almost feeling the energy given from Akko radiating off the phone. She was glad she caught her friend at a good time. She quickly typed out a return message,

Diana: It is only proper to sign messages, you never mentioned it was a problem with letters. I am well, I will confess I did not think I would be able to catch you at a good time today, I am glad I did. What is that small face along with the message? Also how is the start of your day? - Diana

Diana didn't have long to wait until she got a reply, Akko seemingly excited to talk, or very rushed.

Akko: It’s an emoji?? Don’t tell me you don’t know what an emoji is?  
Akko: I always have time for my bestie!  
Akko: But I also had to be up early for school, Okaasan made breakfast so I wouldn’t be late.  
Akko: I’m almost at school now, ugh.

Diana frowned slightly, worrying about interrupting her friend’s studies, knowing how important classes were to both her and the Japanese girl.

Diana: Please make sure to be on time to your studies, it is important for you to be prompt to ensure the best learning. If you are close to school I will not interrupt your classes. I also do not know what an emoji is, but I am sure you will tell me all about it later. -Diana

Diana looked down at her phone, worried that Akko might get the wrong impression from her concern, quickly shooting out a second message.

Diana: I am glad that you made time to talk with me however. -Diana

She sighed, feeling that she had done what she had intended, and was quite pleased that this texting worked so well. She did not have to wait days or weeks for a letter from Akko. Her phone rang again, Diana mentally making a note to turn down the volume of the device later on, given the time difference between her and Akko she assumed that her phone would be ringing at odd hours, and Diana needed proper sleep.

Akko: U R so strict on school, you should have more fun!!  
Akko: But I’ll focus on my studies for U. Can’t be a witch without A’s!!  
Akko: I’ll ttyl, after school.  
Akko: Byeeeee!!

Diana shook her head, somewhat confused at all this new information about texting, sending a quick goodbye message before falling backwards, her head hitting the pillows as a smile graced her face. Diana fell asleep quickly, thinking that this could be the good change that she was looking for, she had a phone, her mother was home, this was good.  
\--

Contrary to how Diana had always thought funerals would be, the weather was bright and sunny, no clouds, no rain, no dark weather. Diana was slumped on her room’s balcony, wondering why the day wouldn’t mourn like she was… wasn’t her mother important enough for everyone to mourn. It had only been a few months since her mother had come back from working constantly, and her health had quickly declined; an illness, the doctors said, and nothing can be done about it. Maybe if Diana hadn’t lost her magic, maybe if she read more, studied harder, she would have found something.

Her thoughts were cut off by a sharp pain in her hands, thrown from her thoughts and looking down at her hands, raw and with small cuts on her knuckles. She blinked, taking a while to realize that she had been pounding on the harsh concrete of her balcony. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, her vision swimming in and out of an ocean of unshed tears as she started to curl down on the concrete, finally letting misery overtake her after days of having to push all feelings down, in the service of being a proper Cavendish.

Diana let out a strangled sob, trying to dam up the stream of tears threatening to fall from her face, when her phone chimed inside of her room. She vaguely heard it, the sound distorted to her, deep in the ocean of her grief. She curled more into herself, feeling guilt now too, for she had also been ignoring her best friend since her mother had died, a whole week of Akko texting once or twice a day, the messages becoming more worried as the days went on.

The young heiress felt drawn to her phone, moving inside slowly, hypnotically walking towards her phone. She reached it and sat down on the floor, resting against her bed as she stared blankly down at her phone, and the taunting notification signalling that there was a message from Akko waiting there for her. She opened it, ignoring the long list of messages she hadn’t had the strength to check, just seeing the new message with laser focus.

Akko: Hey Diana, I’m getting worried, why haven’t you been talking to me? It’s been a week, I really miss you. Okaasan and Otasan are worried about you too. Please let me know you are okay.

Diana could not stem the tears, the muted tone of Akko’s text hitting her along with the rest of the week all at once. Her hands hovered over the phone, desperately wanting to send a message to her friend, the words of her family echoing around in her head. The closer that her hands got to the screen the louder her Aunt Daryl’s voice got, Diana recalling a conversation they had the day after her mother had died, Daryl drunk and looming over Diana, yelling at her loudly, she had blamed Diana, telling her that if she had more magic, if she hadn’t been obsessed with people outside of the family, if she had just been better maybe Bernadette would be alive right now. Diana did not fight back against these accusations, she knew that her Aunt was right, she just stood there, every word sinking her deeper into grief.

In another world, another life, Diana hit the phone, smashing it to bits in a grief fueled fury, not knowing what to do stuck in between grief and rage. She wandered through life choking down her regrets every day, until she was forced to confront them.

However, at this crossroads, Diana gathered up every scrap of courage she had, pushed away her Aunt’s voice, and hit the call icon.

The phone only rang once before the breathless voice of Akko cut through all of her grief, “Diana!” Akko was worried, Diana could hear it in the slight tremble in Akko’s voice, “I was so worried about you,” Akko continued, “Is everything okay, what happened, I can help, I mean my whole family can help, yeah.” The phone went silent as Diana let out a watery smile, hearing Akko had cut through her emotions for the first time this week. “Diana….” Akko’s voice trailed off, as Diana broke down, letting everything out in wailing sobs.

“I... my…” the words briefly left Diana’s mouth, fitting in between the sobs that wracked her body, “my mother.” she eventually ended choking out, the words falling from her mouth as painful as her tears.

There was a brief silence on the phone before Akko started speaking again, her voice hesitant and slow, ‘Diana, I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine what you are feeling now.” Akko lets out a heavy breath and Diana tries to synchronize to it, clinging onto any rope thrown to get her out of the maelstrom of emotions she was feeling. Diana almost didn’t hear Akko’s voice, continuing to speak to her, “and it's okay to cry, I cry a lot over like everything. Do you need anything, I’m sure I can annoy my parents into flying us over there, well maybe not, but at least skipping school tomorrow or something.”  
Diana’s laughs were interrupted by tearful laughs, Akko’s rambling voice a soothing balm she didn’t even realize she needed. “Just…” she trailed off, feeling exhausted from all of the emotions running their course through her. “Talk, please, I just need to not think about today.” Diana whispered, leaning back, her head tilting up and her eyes closing.

Akko enthusiastically responded, rattling on about her day, about what shows she was going to make Diana watch eventually, scandalized that witches didn’t seem to watch television. As the sun began to set for Diana, Akko having ignored her parents telling her to go to sleep hours ago, Diana gradually chiming in with small remarks as she was slowly pulled out of her grim mood, before eventually Diana fell asleep, still on the phone, getting rest for the first time that week.

And if Akko dragged herself into school, or had to take a nap during the last few classes of the day, she would insist it was worth it.

Weeks later a large package showed up at the Cavendish estate, addressed to Diana. When she opened it in the privacy of her room, the packaging fell away to reveal a letter and a large Alcor plush. The letter was short, a simple note from Akko telling Diana that this was her favorite plush and helped with nightmares when she was a kid, and that she felt Diana could use it a lot more. Diana smiled, and if she clung to that plush every night while she slept, well no one needed to know.  
\--

Akko fell back on her bed, holding her 3Ds in her hands as she complained towards the phone on her bedside table, “But Dianaaa,” she whined, dragging her voice out and pouting even if her friend couldn't see her. “You’ve gotta play this with me, or at least some other kinda game,”

Diana’s voice came out of the phone, the speaker amplifying her voice as she talked “What is the point of this Pokemon game you keep asking me to try.”

“It’s for fun,” Akko said, a teasing lilt to her voice, “You do know what fun is right Diana?”

“I am aware of its existence.” Diana huffed, Akko smiling at the reaction as her friend continued, “I simply do not understand how this game works, you said it was capturing monsters and fighting with them? Is that like summoning magic? Do the monsters appear in the real world?”

Akko’s laughter followed Diana’s questions, an indignant huff coming from the phone as Akko raced to reassure her friend, “No, no it's just in the game,” she said, a wide grin stretching its way across her face. “I guess it's kinda like summoning magic, but it's all in the game you get to make a team and travel around doing good.” Akko figured she had Diana there, her friend always had a weakness for heroic stories.

There was a momentary pause as Akko waited in anticipation, finally Diana’s voice came over the speaker, “I guess i could give this Pokemon a try, as long as it is easier to figure out than the internet i suppose.”

“Yes!” Akko yelled, pumping her fist up in the air, her stylus flying off into some corner of her room. “I promise you are gonna love it Diana, you need to relax from all that studying.” she suddenly remembered something that Diana had mentioned before and quickly changed the topic on a dime, “You mentioned summoning magic, are you already doing that? What can you summon? How do you do it?”

“Well I just started learning it,” Diana started explaining, Akko picked up the phone, her game forgotten to hear more about magic. Despite it being 4 years since Akko had seen Shiny Chariot’s show, she had lost none of her excitement for magic, and her belief that Chariot might one day return. Her room was still plastered with Shiny Chariot merchandise, and she had been trying her hardest to learn every single piece of magic from Diana, trying so hard to replicate the first spell she had taught Akko, with little success so far.

Akko tuned back in to Diana’s explanation in time for her to hear her friend mention trying to find obscure materials for classes, her voice having kicked into what Akko likes to call study voice Diana. Akko interrupted her, more interested in what the magic can do then how, “All that extra book stuff is boring, what can you summon Diana?”

Diana’s voice went silent for a moment after the interruption, continuing in a more hesitant and shy voice, “well, I did end up summoning a unicorn yesterday.”

Akko gasped in excitement and let out a loud cheer, “That’s amazing Diana! You have to show me how to do it, so soon we can perform magic together!” Akko tried to be as encouraging as possible whenever Diana did crack her shell and admit any success, in Akko’s opinion she was too humble, still removed from being open about magic like Akko remembered her being years ago.

“Well, I mean,” Diana stammered through the phone, Akko celebrating throwing off her usually composed friend, “That does sound nice.” Diana quietly said, Akko inwardly celebrating, knowing when not to push Diana too hard.

Diana coughs quickly, “So how does one play this Pokemon game?” Akko lit up again with excitement, and began to ramble to her friend about all the things that she liked about the game, letting her excitement steer the conversation.

A few weeks later, Akko was sitting dumbstruck in her bed, her phone once again on speaker while she stared at her 3Ds, looking at the taunting words on the screen, reminding her about her surprising loss, how could Diana be this good, she just started playing less than a month ago.

“That was surprisingly fun,” Diana’s voice came through the speakers, “I enjoyed playing quite a lot.”

Akko perked up, her usual enthusiasm entering her voice as she jumped up, posing dramatically on her bed. “Good!” she yelled, one hand on her hip and her 3Ds held aloft dramatically, waving it around like an invisible wand. “Because next time i won't go easy on you! I’ll show you how to really play.” Akko’s spirits were lifted, and the rest of the night devolved into friendly arguing and pushing their competitive spirits against each other.  
\--

Diana was sitting down at her desk, piles of study material forming structurally unstable towers around her as she tapped her foot, waiting for a call from Akko. Last week the excitable burnette had complained about her english homework, and how boring all the other classes she had were. Diana of course, not wanting to leave her dear friend struggling with her studies, had quickly volunteered to tutor her. Her face went red slightly as she remembered how Akko had eagerly accepted, telling her that since Diana was the smartest person she knew that with her help she was sure to pass her classes.

Diana had come to the conclusion, one night after hearing Akko talk about her dreams of getting into Luna Nova, a shared dream Diana must admit, that she had grown somewhat excessively fond of her dear friend. It was only natural for close friends to share a dream together and wish to reach grand new heights together, wasn’t it? In all of her favorite books the main two women would go on long adventures together, and it was only natural that she saw herself and Akko in those roles.

She was interrupted from her introspection by the music coming from her phone, Akko having taught her a few months ago how to set ringtones for everyone, afterwards she had found Chariot’s theme music and immediately set it as Akko’s ringtone. She quickly went to answer the phone, casting away her thoughts and trying to banish the small blush from her face.

“Diana!!” Akko’s voice echoed from the phone, her excitement somehow carried over electronically, “you amazing witch, you’re going to save my grade.” Diana’s face flushed as she schooled her expression.

“I am sure that your grade is not in as much peril as you think Akko,” she responded, pulling over a blank notebook and getting ready to help with explanations and organizing, “What topics seem to be troubling you?”

Akko let out a long sigh as she mumbled something to herself, speaking up into the phone as she answered “English for sure, it's just such a weird language. How can you know what people are saying when you have words that mean the opposite thing at the same time.” Akko groaned, and Diana could imagine her falling back against her wall as she continued to bemoan learning the English language.

One very confusing conversation about contronyms later, where Diana had in the process also become quite confused, Akko’s questions leading her to ask her own about the grammar she had always taken the rules of as set in stone. She of course took the opportunity to ask Akko some questions about Japanese, as she had recently found that both her and Akko were quite enthralled with learning languages, the enthusiastic witch taking quickly to english, and even some dragon script that Diana had sent her, all in the name of pursuing her goal of attending Luna Nova.

Diana, realizing that the topic had been somewhat derailed, tried to bring it back around to Akko’s studies, “Are there any other classes that you may need help in Akko?” she asked.

“Oh yeah,” Akko chimed in, “There was a unit I didn’t quite get in chemistry, maybe you could help me with that?” she trailed off, somewhat unsure.

Diana was stumped. What even is chemistry, she thought, frantically searching through her stacks of notes for any clues.

“Well it’s mixing stuff together, like how stuff reacts in temperatures and when combined, ya know.” Akko’s voice cut through her search, bringing her to a halt as she realized that she had voiced her thoughts out loud. Diana sighed with relief, now having something to work with.

“Well,” she started, pulling out a sheaf of papers, the move almost causing the structure to fall before it stabilized. “That does seem similar enough to alchemy, what does seem to be the issue, are you trying to figure out what ingredient to add?”

“Oh I should have expected you had a different name for it,” Akko also sounded quite relieved at the seeming small mixup. “Well I just had this problem on how different carbon substances would react to acids and bases, and I kinda forgot to pay attention during that part of class and I was hoping you might know.”

At this point Diana’s brain had turned completely off, stuck in circles trying to comprehend some of the words that Akko had said. “Atsuko,” Diana cut her friend off during a rant about how it wasn’t her fault. “What’s carbon?”

Akko’s laughter didn’t resolve for the next few minutes, Diana’s increasingly flushed face and small attempts to quell her friend’s laughter were to no avail as Akko incredulously explained to her what carbon was, and some of the basics of chemistry, promising to tutor her next time.  
\--

Akko was pacing back and forth, feeling sheer glee and utter fear at the same time as she held onto the letter that her beaming parents had just given her 5 minutes ago. Her acceptance letter from Luna Nova. When she first read the letter she had jumped around her room in pure joy for a whole minute before the realization set in. She was going to go to Luna Nova, Chariot's old school, Luna Nova the magic school. Her mind had been running around that same looping hamster wheel for the last few minutes, her feet following that pace as she trekked around her room.

She impulsively grabbed her phone when she passed it by on her loop of the room, almost instinctively going to Diana’s contact in the phone. She knew the blonde witch was probably up, and might have also gotten news if she was accepted to Luna Nova, though Akko knew that she had gotten in without a doubt.

Akko threw herself into her bed, landing amidst a few spare pieces of homework and the various Alcor plushies that she had scattered across the sheets, and hit the call button. The phone only rang for a few moments before Diana answered the call.

“Hello Akko, how are you doing today.” Diana said, sounding a bit more energized than it should be given the time, which should be late in the night for her.

Akko couldn’t hold the news in any longer and blurted out, “I got into Luna Nova.”

The phone was silent for only a moment until Diana started back up again, sounding more awake, ‘Congratulations Akko, I know you worked very hard to get to this point, you deserve your place.’ she paused for a moment before continuing, “I have also received my acceptance to Luna Nova, it seems we will soon be classmates.”

Akko’s stomach did a weird turn at hearing that, knowing that she was soon going to be seeing her best friend for the first time in 8 years. Her mood quickly sobered as her thoughts started drifting, missing Diana suggesting plans to meet up and small bits of advice, instead Akko started thinking about what could happen when she reached the school of her dreams.

“Akko, is everything alright.” Diana’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, her immediate plan of waving off Diana’s concern stopping when the words refused to come out of her throat.

Instead she slowly sighed and started hesitantly talking to her friend, “Well, I am happy, because I am closer to being like Chariot, but..” her voice trails off as she holds her hand up towards the ceiling, reaching out towards the posters of Chariot she had adorning the wall, “What if I can’t do it. I still can barely cast the spell you told me about years ago. I don’t want to let everyone down.”

“Akko,” Diana begins, a softness to her voice that Akko had only heard a few times, “You made it into Luna Nova, even though you aren’t from a traditional witch family, because you have the motivation to do it. You have your dream, and your believing heart.”

Akko could barely hear the last part, smiling at her friend’s motivational words before a whole new type of anxiety struck her in the gut and she said what immediately came to her mind without thinking, “What if I actually do it.” she said before she almost clapped a hand over her mouth.

“You mean when you succeed” Diana said, her confidence making Akko grin despite her wild emotions.

“Yeah Akko started, trying to find the words to explain, “What if I figure it all out, and I get to be like Chariot, what..” she halted embarrassed before pressing on, “what do I do then. What’s next. How do I handle that.’ She rushed the words out of her mouth at the same frantic pace her brain was speeding along at.

There was a brief pause over the phone, Akko about to cut in and tell Diana it wasn’t worth answering when the blonde witch cut in, “ I get it,” she started, Akko involuntarily letting out a sigh of relief at the words. “Sometimes you focus so much on getting to your goal you have no idea what to do afterwards, and that is scary” Diana said, letting her words trail off into a silence, both girls feeling a bit better with the shared feelings of anxiety.

Akko felt a surge of confidence, deciding that speaking whatever crossed her mind had already worked once today and to go for it again, “Well,” she said, “At least when we get there we will have each other right?”

Diana let out a small laugh, “Yeah Akko, you are right, we will have each other.” Akko’s face breaks out into a massive grin, ignoring how her face flushes with those words.

“Yeah,” Akko laughs, trying to change the topic to anywhere but to the weird feelings she’s been having, “So you said something about meeting up for Luna Nova.”

“Oh,” Diana said, blessedly accepting the change of topic, “Yes, there is a ley line that goes near to the school, I was wondering If you would prefer to meet there before the opening ceremony.”

Akko hastily agreed, steadily growing more excited the more small plans they made, every so often throwing out a plan that Diana would calmly shoot down before moving onto something even grander. Look out Luna Nova, Akko Kagari is coming and is going to be the next Chariot!  
\--

Akko was late. Diana looked down at her phone, the digital numbers of the time taunting her with the realization that her friend was a full 30 minutes late to their scheduled meeting. Her mind began to race with the different scenarios that could have happened to her friend. Akko was somewhat excitable, and a bit quick to misunderstand, maybe she was late from missing a flight, or getting the wrong directions.

Trying to get out all of the anxious energy she was feeling, Diana started to pace near her chosen meeting place as the time slowly ticked by, eventually letting out a sigh and heading towards Luna Nova. Surely Akko would be able to make it for the opening ceremony, the Japanese witch may be a little bit eccentric but she is dedicated to magic, and wouldn’t miss the first day of school for any reason.

Diana sighed again, a common occurrence when it came to Akko, and started to head towards Luna Nova, it would not look good for her to show up late, she had to start making a good impression on her professors and the other students. She had already met the two other members of the blue team, as they were also from wealthy witch families in the area, and she confessed to herself that she felt a little cheated that she would be unable to room with Akko, but knew that there were many things that went into appearances at Luna Nova, and she had to keep them up for the sake of the Cavendish family. She turned towards the exit to the leyline, starting to turn away, reassuring herself that at least Akko would turn up in time for the opening ceremony.

A few miles away Atsuko Kagari was running as fast as she could towards where she had figured out the bus station to Luna Nova was, frantically trying to figure out what she could do to save time. She had been running late to the airport, and it wasn’t until she was already thousands of feet in the air that she realized that she had forgotten to charge her phone. The directions on the pamphlet were so confusing as well, and she didn’t even have her phone charged enough to ask Diana any questions.

She figured that her day couldn’t get any worse, and then she ran head first into someone, catching a glimpse of purple hair before she tumbled, spilling some of her belongings to the ground. One rushed jumbled conversation later, where she had established that this girl was not much of a talker, and maybe people hadn’t seen Shiny Chariot here, which to her was absurd, Diana liked Shiny Chariot so she was sure all witches also did, she was continuing onwards towards the station, sprinting full tilt inside and skidding to a halt as she stared up into the leyline, remembering at this moment the Chariot concert from years ago, where Chariot took off into a portal that looked a lot like how the inside of this station looked.

Akko let out a groan, mentally kicking herself for only just now realizing that witches could ride brooms and of course that is how they would reach Luna Nova. She turned around, fully intent to try to head back to town and try to find a way to charge her phone, or maybe some well meaning witch could help her out, when she promptly ran into someone else.

What is with today, she thought to herself, already scrambling to get up and launching into an apology. This witch, it turned out, was much nicer than the rest that she had ran into that day, and Akko had immediately announced that she was going to be friends with Lotte, the ginger witch who had offered her a ride to Luna Nova. The day was looking up finally!

Akko decided, flying through the portal with the two other witches that she had met by literally running into them earlier today, that her earlier thoughts were half right. Going from running late to being chased by a monster in a mysterious forest was definitely a downside, but on the upside, she had the Shiny Rod! As the bright light of the spell faded and she crashed down on the floor she popped up with surprising energy, twirling around and taking in the sights of Luna Nova, the inside of the hall exactly as she had imagined, and let out a yell of excitement.

“Yes,” she yelled, holding up the shiny rod above her head, “I made it.” it was only then she realized how silent it was, and stopped her spinning to focus on the large group of witches around her as both teachers and students were staring right at her, most with disapproving looks on their faces. Her face scanned the crowd looking for one person in particular and then found her, standing in the front row, which she honestly should have checked first thinking about it.

Akko was stunned for only a moment, finally seeing her friend for the first time in 8 years. Without even thinking the first thought that came to her head was, oh wow she is so pretty, wait, pretty? However, luckily, what came out of her mouth was an extremely loud greeting, Akko practically jumping up with excitement and waving, “Hi Diana!” she yelled, making most of the witches look at the heiress as she held up a hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle, her hand slipping, showing a smile as she gave a small wave back.

“Hello Atsuko,” Diana said, near oblivious to the surprised stares of the rest of the witches, her smile making Akko’s insides turn over more than she had flipped inside the portal, the combined effect snapping several things into place for the brunette witch; all the late nights that she spent talking to Diana longing to see her, trying everything she could to make her friend open up and to hear her laugh, everything solidifying into one thought inside her head.

Oh shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana's turn to realize her feelings. Written for day 7, free day.

A loud groan echoed in the the red dorm room, Akko banging her head into the wall by her bed, mumbling to herself, her luggage still half scattered across the bed. Her new roommates Lotte and Sucy watched her, Lotte nervously looking at Sucy who seemed to be barely paying attention. 

“Umm, Akko,” Lotte said, the brunette witch stopping and turning towards her, “Is everything okay?” she said hesitantly, hoping that her new dorm mate and friend wasn’t too disappointed with the way they got scolded after their dramatic entrance into Luna Nova. “I know Finnelan is a bit harsh..” 

Akko flopped sideways onto the bed, “I’m fine.” She said, voice muffled by a pillow. “I mean I’m super happy to be at Luna Nova, it’s been my dream for so long, and I’m finally here.” She sits up at this, grabbing the Shiny Rod that was laying on her end table, “And I have the Shiny Rod, so I’m one step closer to being like Chariot.” 

Sucy rolled her eyes slightly at that, turning in her chair, the desk now littered with unpacked mushroom specimens, “You know she disappeared for years.” She said. 

“Yeah but she is still amazing,” Akko got enthused, jumping up and posing with the Shiny Rod, “I’m going to be just like her, the greatest witch,” she said getting carried away, “Me and Diana both.” She flushed slightly at Diana’s name, causing both of her roommates eyebrows to quirk. 

“How do you know Diana Cavendish,” Lotte said, “I mean she’s from one of the old witch families.” 

A dreamy look passed over Akko’s face, “She is my best friend, we met when we were kids at a Shiny Chariot show, and have been talking to each other ever since.” She said, turning around and resting her head against the bed frame with a dull thump, seeming to forget that she had an audience, “Why is she so hot?” she whined, “I don’t see her for 8 years and we talk all of the time and share everything with each other and then she shows up and is like that.” She started rambling, ignoring the excited look in Lotte’s eyes and Sucy’s muffled laughter as she sat down on the bed. 

Lotte went over and sat beside her, putting one hand on her shoulder, “That is so romantic,” she said, causing Akko to blush further, “It is like something out of Nightfall.” She sighed. 

“I doubt it will be romantic if Akko can’t even look at Diana without acting like this,” Sucy deadpans, Akko sadly nodding. 

A loud ding interrupted the girls, all eyes drawn to Akko’s phone, lit up with a message. Time unfreezes as Akko scrambles for the phone, quickly opening it and reading the message. 

Diana: I was so very glad to see you Akko, despite your rather enthusiastic entrance to the ceremony. I hope tomorrow we can meet before our classes start, it has been much too long since I heard your voice. - Diana

Akko fell back onto the bed, loosing grasp of her phone as it bounced onto the floor, letting out a groan, “Whyyyyy” she complained, Lotte giving her a pat on the shoulder as she tried to console the girl, both her and Sucy sharing a anxious look, this was going to be an interesting semester to watch.   
— 

Starting the semester at Luna Nova with an actual friend was turning out to be even better than Diana had thought it could be. Of course Diana would have preferred getting the same dorm together, but she was simply happy to finally have a friend in reach. Her new room mates, Hannah and Barbara, were what she had expected. They were nice, and seemed excited to study at Luna Nova, but they seemed to much like her cousins for her to feel totally comfortable. The first few days of classes had been uncomfortable for both the blue and red teams as they tried to adjust to the new semester; the red team quickly growing used to Akko’s high energy and the blue team becoming increasingly annoyed for the same reason. 

Opening the door to the library she strode towards a table she had found a few days ago when she heard the voices of her roommates stage whispering coming from a few rows off. “Why do you even idolize that witch, she wasn’t even any good, and ran away afraid I hear.” Diana felt her stomach sink, knowing that there could only be one person that they were talking to. 

She rounded the corner to see Akko sitting on one of the large comfy seats nestled into the corner areas of the library, frowning up at Hannah and Barbara. “Chariot was a great witch,” Akko said, her eyes fierce, “And it’s not just me who thinks that.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, all of them not noticing Diana slowly walk towards them, “Do you still believe this weird fantasy you have about Diana being a Chariot fan,” she said, crossing her arms at Akko, “she doesn’t need you hanging around her all the time, you can’t even fly and she is from a respected wi-”

Diana cut her off with a cough, all three of the witches jumping as they spun to look at Diana, standing behind them with one eyebrow cocked. 

All three witches started to talk at once, Diana ignoring them as she moved past her room mates, silently fuming at their treatment of her best friend, determined to show them that indeed her and Akko were indeed close friends, going and sitting down sideways on the large chair, her back resting against one of the arm rests and her legs resting on Akko’s lap, not missing a beat as she pulled a book from her bag and cracked it back open, leaving all the witches staring at her. 

She raised her eyes, meeting the stunned looks of her room mates before looking over at Akko, noticing red starting to creep across her face and the fact that she started to get fidgity. She inwardly kicked herself, feeling ashamed that she had let her brain get away from her, not even asking Akko if she was comfortable with physical contact. 

“Are you okay Akko,” she said, the brunette girl’s head jerking towards hers, “I don’t mean to impose if you are uncomfortable.” 

Akko looked down, seeming to relax a bit before stammering out, “I’m fine, just, didn’t expect it,” she said, her eyes darting back up to look at Hannah and Barbara who are still looking at them incredulously. 

The corners of Diana’s mouth curled in a smile as she glanced up at her team mates, feeling a bit of the boldness that Akko had rarely brought out in her, “I don’t know why,” she said, making sure to turn to look at the rest of the blue team, “I do make a point to spend time with my dear friend.” 

Hannah and Barbara sputtered at that, both of them starting to back away as they left the library, leaving the two witches to their corner chair. 

“Thanks,” Akko said in a low voice, Diana’s heart falling at the sad tone, deciding to cut Akko off before she could finish her apology. 

“Thats what us friends do right.” She said, grinning. She almost thought she saw Akko’s face fall further before she bounced back, a shy grin on her face. “Now you were telling me about a new game you got last week, and all about how you wanted a rematch from last time we played.”

Yes, Diana thought, watching Akko animatedly talk about games, pulling out her 3Ds as she spoke excitedly pointing out all the new things she wanted to show the heiress, this is worth it.   
— 

In hindsight, Akko thought as she was falling through the air, trying to impress Diana by competing against her in a broom race wasn’t the best idea. The wind rushed by her as she closed her eyes, when suddenly she was jerked sideways, opening her eyes to see Diana, a fierce look on her face as she gripped Akko’s arm, pulling her up onto the broom and wrapping her in a one armed hug. 

The ride down towards a nearby clearing was quiet, neither of the girls talking, Akko feeling Diana shaking pressed up against her. The two of them landed, Akko trying to step away as Diana clutched onto her, burying her head in Akko’s shoulders. They were silent for a moment longer until Diana looked up, her face fighting between anger and fear. 

“Why would you do such a stupid thing,” she said, her hands balled up at her side and tears leaking out of the sides of her eyes, “You almost..”

“I’m sorry,” Akko blurted out interrupting her, “I just wanted to race against you, prove everyone wrong.” She kicked her shoes into the dirt abashedly. “If I could win the race with a legendary broom I’d be closer to Chariot, and then maybe people would see that too.” 

Diana felt her anger melt away, sighing as she picked up her broom, checking over Akko to make sure that she was alright. “You have some scrapes,” she said, her voice regaining a bit of stability, “And you are going to be behind if you want to try to win.” She said, a watery smile on her face. 

Akko leaped at her, wrapping her up in a hug as she looked over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the shooting star flying above. Pulling away from Diana she cracked a smile, “Race is still on,” she said, running towards a nearby cannon and getting ready to try to catch the errant broom. Diana looked confused for a moment before catching on, swinging onto the broom and leveling a look at Akko. 

“Catch me.” She said, rocketing off as Akko pulled herself into the cannon. 

The two were neck and neck for the rest of the race, pushing each other forward as they grinned, a silent challenge issued between them as the last leg of the race approached, both so close to the finish line when Akko felt a snap, the metal bindings on the Shooting Star fracturing and flying off, sending her tumbling from the broom as she watched the mythical object take flight. 

After a rushed awards ceremony Diana found Akko cleaning some scratches in the courtyard, a small first aid kit right next to her. Diana sat down, grabbing some of the supplies from Akko, “Let me.” She said, starting to clean the various scrapes. 

“Thanks for trusting me to finish the race,” Akko said, “I’m going to beat you next year.” She said, bumping her shoulder against Diana, who let out a laugh.

“We will see,” the blonde witch said, a competitive smirk on her face, “Next time you try to do something risky, tell me, I need to be there to bail you out.” 

Akko smiled, her mind still racing with the adrenaline high of the race, “Aww Diana,” she said teasingly, “You want to protect me.” 

“I would rather not have to go through making a new friend,” she said with an eye roll, “I quite like the one that I have, so I will be paying close attention to you if you plan to get in more of these situations.” Diana grinned, placing a bandage on the last of her scrapes. 

A bright blush rose on Akko’s face, the events of the day and the closeness of the moment catching up to her, letting out a shaky ascent as she reveled in the closeness she had right now, looking forward to more time spent together. 

Sandwiched in between Diana and the rest of her friends a few mornings later, Diana having insisting on spending breakfast with her, Akko thought that getting more attention from her crush would be a great thing, but the reality was turning out to be the opposite. The whole rest of the day Diana was always there, levitating Akko’s books next to her, sitting by her at meals, and making sure to study next to her in the library. 

The whole thing was incredibly stressful, Akko thought, Diana was so pretty and nice and just there. She felt a hand grab onto hers, looking over to see Diana looking at her, a small smile on her face. 

“I am sorry if I am crowding you,” Diana said, seeming to read Akko’s thoughts, “I just worry, I can’t seem to get the image of you falling out of my mind.” She said softly, her eyes darting down to her food. 

She cares about me, a small part of Akko’s mind celebrated, her stiff posture melting, “It’s fine,” she murmured, relieved at the small smile on Diana’s face. Well, it was probably worth a bit of stress if she could get this close to Diana more often, she thought, digging into her meal.   
—

One late Friday found Akko studying in the red team dorm, Diana with her and helping her go over her recipes for potions class after a particularly bad incident earlier that week that melted right through one of her cauldrons. Akko had finished copying down the recipes correctly from Diana’s notes and was on her laptop, trying to find a replacement for the poor cauldron. 

Suddenly the unmistakable tone of a video call started to come through, Akko looking at the date and realizing that this was the weekend that her parents were supposed to call in and check on her. 

“Should I go,” Diana said, already half packed up. 

“No, no.” Akko said with a sheepish grin, “It’s just my mom and dad.” She said, Diana sitting back down in the chair and casting a quick spell so she could understand what was said as Akko clicked the button to accept the call. 

“Akko!” the voice came through the speakers, “It’s good to see you. How are you?” Akemi Kagari said. 

“I’m good,” Akko said, “I was just studying. And I have a suprise,” she said, spinning the laptop around so that the camera could see Diana, sitting awkwardly in one of the chairs in the room, “Its Diana!” 

“Hello Mrs and Mr Kagari,” the heiress said, shyly waving at the camera. 

“Diana, you’ve grown up since I last saw you.” Akemi said, “You look wonderful, Akko doesn’t she look great.” 

Akko cursed herself in her head for sharing any information of her crush with her mother, looking at Diana with a sheepish grin, “Yeah she does.” She said, watching as Diana blushed slightly. 

“Stop teasing them,” came (name here) voice, pushing into view of the camera, “How are your studies going girls.” He said. Akko patted the bed next to her and Diana slowly got up and moved next to her, Akko launching into a detailed drama of how the week went, leaving out the fact that she had ruined another piece of equipment, A fact that Diana brought up smiling as Akko whined at her. 

After catching up on the girls education, Akemi turned towards Diana,”How have things been at home Diana, we don’t hear much from Akko.”

A pained smile crossed Diana’s face, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to find the words. Akko shot her a nervous look before going to open her mouth to scold her mother when Diana finally chimed in, “Home is, acceptable,” she trailed off, looking to the side. 

Akemi scowled briefly, looking over at her husband briefly, both of them nodding at each other, “Well Diana,” she started, “Akko talks so much about you and we haven’t seen you in so long, would you like to come to Japan for the summer break.” 

Diana sat stunned, looking over at Akko in disbelief, the Japanese witch smiling at her, “Well,” Akko started, “I would want to have you there, there is a lot of stuff I didn’t get to show you last time.” 

“I..” Diana started, trailing off as she thought about her home, the manor full of memories of her Cousins and Aunt tormenting her about her interests and the house feeling heavy with the reminder of the heavy burdens that everyone expected Diana to have. She hadn’t felt like her house was truly home for a very long time. She glanced at her best friend and her family, feeling a warmth in her stomach. 

“I would love to come next break.” She said, laughing as cheers broke out from the Kagari family. Even though she hadn’t seen the whole family in 8 years they had succeeded in making her feel more at home than she had since her mother died. 

— 

Shiny Chariot was their teacher, Diana and Akko had sat in class and watched as Shiny Chariot taught them magic. Diana pushed her thoughts away, flying low over the ground as she tried to search for Akko, the revelations of the day bouncing around in her brain. Her eyes widened as she saw Akko in the distance, sitting on her own on a bench, snow in little piles on her head. 

“Akko!” she yelled, racing over and dropping down in front of the still girl, grabbing her hands as she looked up at her friend, meeting red rimmed and puffy eyes. “Ar e you okay,” Diana continued, brushing snow off of Akko’s uniform. 

Akko shook her head, not saying anything as Diana started to frantically look around, noticing how close they were to the Last Wendsday Society, taking Akko by the hands and dragging her towards the shop, “Come on, we have to get you out of the cold.” 

She practically dragged the girl inside, sitting her down before ordering them hot drinks before sitting down with Akko, grabbing her hands that were resting on top of the table. Diana searched her mind trying to find the words to say, fingers idly running over Akko’s hands. 

“You know,” she started, “When my mother and I came back from Japan, I tried for weeks to cast the same spells as Shiny Chariot did.” She said, her voice uncharacteristically soft, Akko’s lips curling in a small grin for a moment. 

“I never was able to cast a single spell.” Akko looked up at her in shock, “I know, it was hard for me to figure out too, but it wasn’t just Chariot’s spells, I couldn’t do any magic at all.” Diana looked down at their interlocked hands. “My mother tried everything, and I practiced magic every single day trying to just cast one spell.” 

“But you are Diana,” Akko said, her voice cracking slightly, “You can cast anything.” 

Diana laughed softly, looking up and both of them meeting each other’s eyes, “I’m not a perfect witch Akko, I had to practice every single day, I pushed myself hard, but do you know what got me through.” 

Akko shook her head, Diana letting one of her hands go and reaching into her coat, pulling out her limited edition Shiny Chariot card, pushing it over towards Akko. 

“Is this?” Akko trailed off, looking at the card, Diana gently putting it into her hands. 

“My mother gave this to me when I was trying to re-learn magic, she wanted to remind me what was important to my magic.” 

“A believing heart is your magic,” both of them said softly, meeting eyes and laughing slightly. 

“I want you to have this,” Diana said, Akko trying to push it back and refuse, Diana looking at her kindly. “When I was learning my magic it wasn’t just Chariot that motivated me to learn magic,” she said, quelling Akko’s complaints. “I also had a friend who loved magic, and I wanted to be able to do magic with her again.” 

Tears welled in Akko’s eyes, a watery smile on her face. The look of hope on her face gave Diana the courage to continue, “The Shiny Rod chose you Akko, you found the words, you embraced magic, and you are already an amazing witch.” 

The hands holding hers tightened, looking up to see Akko smiling at her. “We do it together,” the Japanese witch said, causing Diana’s heart to skip for a moment, confusing her as she smiled and nodded back. The moment was interrupted by the rest of their friends bursting into the room, swarming around Akko and making sure that she was alright. Diana smiled, looking at the group surrounding Akko. 

She looked on as Akko stood up, accepting the Shiny Rod and surrounded by friends, and looked at Diana, her face scrunching up a bit before she seemed to make her decision, sticking her hand out to pull Diana up, the rest of the crowd looking at her as well. Diana took her hand, pulled up and into the group, recieving a slap on the back from Amanda and a small side hug from Lotte, the group of girls grabbing hot drinks and starting to plan.   
— 

The next few days flew by in a rush, and before Diana knew it all of the nine new witches were all outside watching Akko practice flying. Diana had brought out tea to accompany the snacks that Jasminka had brought out, and the whole group was watching Akko throw herself off of a small brick wall, yelling out the flight spell at the top of her lungs every time. Diana watched the girl fondly, admiring her dedication towards trying to fly, rooting for her in her mind. 

The last few weeks had felt like a whirlwind for Diana, going from a better than usual time at school, to finding out that your idol was your teacher, to then flying high in the stars with your best friend chasing down a world threatening missile. This gathering was a nice break from the hectic events, Diana glad to take some time to unwind with her tea and company.

Looking around at everyone gathered around enjoying each others company, she thought about how this was all due to Akko, cheerfully pulling all of them together regardless of how the groups had first acted. It was her endless optimism, Diana decided, that was the best thing about her. That ever present cute smile. 

Diana shook her head, Akko’s celebratory yell drawing her eyes as she saw the excitable girl hovering in the air, successfully having managed to fly on her broom for the first time. A look of pure joy was on Akko’s face, her eyes meeting Diana’s as her grin impossibly stretched bigger. The heiress smiled back, feeling that same freedom wash over her. 

She always felt this way around Akko, as if her family responsibilities and expectations were no where to be found, leaving only Diana, the girl who loved magic and Chariot, the girl who could stay on the phone for hours joking with a friend that lived on the opposite end of the world. What would she ever do without Akko’s presence, why would she ever want to be apart from such a wonderful person. 

A few months later than Akko, though Diana wouldn’t know this for a short time, the same pieces of her heart fell into place. Seeing Akko flying, unburdened and free, made Diana’s heart swell, reminding her of every single time that Akko was there for her, willing to help her go forward and never give up, to the brief memory of Diana and Akko holding hands above the earth, Diana’s heart pounding from what she thought at the time was nerves. 

The thoughts raced around her mind for what felt like a long time before she broke away from the celebratory scene in front of her, looking down at her trembling tea cup as she flushed, not being able to keep her thoughts from being spoken aloud. 

“Oh dear.”

—

Two weeks later A group of figures stood around the room, a large pile of papers and what looked like cheap party favors strewn across the table in the middle. At the head of the table one of the figures rested their hands on the table, looking down at the result of weeks of planning. 

“You know its ready,” one of the figures said, “This is the most prepared you are ever going to get,” they said, walking over to stand by the first figure. 

Another came over to the other side, “Yeah,” they said, “We all know she can’t get enough of you this is gonna go great.” 

Akko looked up at the rest of her friends surrounding her, flanked by Lotte and Barbara, and grinned. “Alright,” she said, “Operation ask Diana out is a go.” 

— 

Diana was heading back to the dorms from studying, having lost herself in a few new books that she had found. It was strangely quite that day, Akko hadn’t shown up at all, which was odd. Diana sighed, she had been getting used to the excitable girls company, both of them studying and spending time with each other almost every day from not too long after the missile incident, since the day that Diana had realized that she loved Akko. 

A grin broke out on Diana’s face, unable to contain it as she blushed slightly, she had been trying to find the right time to tell Akko about her feelings, but the right moment never came. As she was lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize Lotte had noticed her walking down the corridor, maneuvering through the crowd and popping up next to Diana. 

“Hello Diana,” she said, causing Diana to jump a bit, relaxing when she saw who it was. 

“Oh hello Lotte,” she said, “How are you? Have you seen Akko today.” 

“Actually that’s why I was looking for you,” the Finnish girl said, pulling Diana aside and towards one of the paths leading to one of the fields. “She wanted to show you something.” 

“Did she make any progress on some of the spells we were going over,” Diana asked, a smile on her face, “I saw how excited she was studying them last week.” 

Lotte laughed nervously, almost dragging Diana forward, leading her towards a rougher path that led to one of the outside fields, “well here it is go that way,” she said, pushing Diana forward and darting off to the side. 

“That was odd,” Diana said to herself, mumbling as she walked down the path, “I wonder what is going on.” She rounded the corner of the path, the trees opening up to a small clearing area, Diana halting as she saw a small stage set up, one chair in front of it. She quirked her eyebrow, looking around and finding no one there, nothing aside from a small folded piece of paper sitting on the chair addressed to her. She unfolded the paper, a simple message on it reading just, ‘enjoy’. 

The moment she read the letter the rough curtains of the stage opened, revealing Akko standing there, wearing a replica of Shiny Chariot’s costume and giving her a shy wave. Diana smiled and sat down, Akko breaking out into a grin and a small fist pump as she stepped up to the front of the stage, her mouth set in determination. 

An upbeat music track started as Akko gripped her wand, stuttering out her first spell as light started to shine from the stage, Akko gaining confidence from this and starting to cast more spells. 

As Diana sat there she was called back to the time they first met at Chariot’s show, Akko attempting to recreate the same spells. The illusions wobbled in the air, the lights and bubbles of magic wavering in the air. It was no where near Shiny Chariot, but it was all Akko, from the enthusiasm to the shining smile that was on her face. Akko shot a magical firework up into the air, posing dramatically and pointing at Diana, her face beet red as she summoned courage, “Diana!” she yelled, their eyes locking, “A believing heart may be my magic, but it’s also you.” Akko said, her hand wavering a bit as she cast another spell, a large pile of roses appearing in the air. 

Diana blushed heavily, her heart pounding from the performance as she walked forward in a haze, moving over to Akko and grabbing her face, pulling them into a kiss, Akko stunned for a moment before responding, both of them trying to put as much emotion as possible into the kiss. They broke apart, both of them flushed as they smiled at each other, the realization of what she just did setting into Diana, giving a squeak as she buried her head in Akko’s shoulder, the other girl breaking out into laughter. 

“Hey Diana,” she said, a dopey smile on her face, “Do you want to go out of tea tomorrow.” 

Not trusting herself to respond Diana nodded into Akko’s neck, her heart starting to slow down as her brain processed the news. She pulled away slightly, the two witches meeting eyes. “I would love to.” Diana said, both of them breaking out into giggles as the rest of the nine new witches appeared from the tree line, all of them cheering, with some calls of how it took much too long for them to get together. 

Years later, speaking at their wedding, Diana would reflect on how such a simple problem as a misprinted ticket and seat change could change both of their lives in so many different ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for expressing interest in the second part of this, I hope you enjoyed it just as much.   
> A huge thank you to everyone who read during my first attempt at fanfic and a fanfic week.   
> More projects to come.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to use Irish for magic, as some of the words from LWA sounded more Gaelic to me, but its all google translated.  
> Might continue this on day 7? if there is any interest in it being continued, or if my masters program doesn't get in the way.  
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
